A DELEGATION from the North-East fraud forum has been invited to attend a United Nations conference on fraud next month.

Peter Smith, head of forensic accounting services at North-East law firm Dickinson Dees, has been invited to speak at the International Commercial Fraud Colloquium, in Austria, next month.

He will be joined at the conference by fellow representatives from the North-East fraud forum, including Phil Butler and Colin Gibson, the heads of Northumbria and Durham Police's economic crime units.

The delegation from the region will be explaining how the forum has developed during the past 12 months and the role it has played in reducing North-East business crime.

The forum was established in the region just over a year ago by partnership bodies including the three regional police forces, the Home Office and Dickinson Dees.

Delegates will hear how other regions in the UK and Europe are planning to copy the crime forum.

The Metropolitan Police is considering a similar approach and the US Treas- ury has also shown an interest.

Mr Smith said: "We have developed a best practice model in the North-East and can draw upon the advice of some of the leading experts in the field of fraud.

"We hope that by sharing our experiences, both good and bad, others will be able to build on these to combat the ever-growing problem of fraud across the globe."